Reflective Encounters

“In the acidic satire *Mad in Xpain*, Coke Riobóo spills out every stereotypical cultural signifier you can associate with Spain - bullfighters, Catholicism, and flamenco - onto the screen and radically reconfigures them to absurd ends. Riobóo’s post-apocalyptic claymation world, populated with expansive orange deserts and stiff figurines that murmur and wriggle around, is clearly indebted to George Miller’s Mad Max films. Yet, while Immortan Joe rode with the war boys in Fury Road, here the Pope rides in souped-up mega cars with priests in tow, catching nuns with nets, and operating a gigantic robot statue of Jesus.

Every frame has this same sense of gleeful abandon as we journey through the film’s barren landscapes, with sharp critiques of modern Spanish society at every turn, touching on everything from immigration, religion and alcoholism. Amidst the absurd satire one is thoroughly won over by the meticulous detail and aesthetic charm of the film. There is a simple thrill in observing how tactile everything is, how boats skirt over water made of plastic wrap, and in spotting the endless cultural references in the backgrounds, like Goya's painting of Saturn. The amount of work put into the film is staggering, as seen in the time-lapse montage played in the credits, and with the level of cultural authenticity on display it clearly paid off.”

— Matthew Chan